An archaic bronze ritual wine vessel (Zun), Early Western Zhou dynasty | 西周初 青銅饕餮紋尊

Lucidly cast with bulging eyes on the taotie masks, this vessel is distinctive for its ornament executed in high relief. Tall and cylindrical zun decorated with such motifs follow in the tradition developed from the Anyang period (c. 1300-1046 BC). A similar example excavated in Baicaopo, Lingtai, Gansu province, is illustrated in Zhongguo Qingtongqi Quanji / Complete Series on Chinese Bronzes, vol. 6: Western Zhou, Beijing, 1997, pl. 188. See a vessel of slightly more exaggerated form and with taotie masks cast in lower relief, illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, vol. IIB, Washington, D.C., 1990, pl. 82, where it is attributed to the early Western Zhou period and compared to a similar zun excavated at Zhuwajie, Pengxian, Sichuan province, ibid., fig. 82.1. See also a related piece with softer designs, illustrated in ibid., pl. 80, and another closely related vessel, sold in these rooms, 17th September 2013, lot 16.